Ex Vitro - Any% Speedrun in 14:57 (13:51 IGT) [World Record]
2After spending several hours of routing, making sure every section is perfect and optimal, it was time to start doing attempts. This is the result of my work.
Not only is this the first sub 15, but also the first sub 14 in-game time! So without new skips or strats, this will be a difficult run to beat.
Major strats explained:
- The backbone of this game is to maintaining sprint, which you mainly get while running on the ground. Thus it's cruicial to keep this throughout the game as much as possible, even through to each new section. Due to this, your mouse placement is very important so you always faces forward, as going backwards is slow, loses sprint and can't gain it.
- At the first Out of Bound (1:46), I crouch in the corner, hold up and spam jump until I get outside. Then I carefully jump around an invisible platform to not fall down. You must be crouch jumping to enter the transition trigger. Also, charging the Pulse Beam is purely to see where you are.
- Entering the save room (2:13) is only to get a checkpoint, so I can warp back there later. This same concept is used two more times in the run.
- The biggest change to the route is the Refraction Beam Early trick (2:53), found by gdVertigo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J89ZyIfh5gw), though I found the OoB used here. This skips an otherwise mandatory boss fight, by doing a precise jump into a double jump. I line up the back my front foot with the leaf sticking out.
- Upon taking the XMP Regenerator (4:51), I instantly quitout and reload the save file to warp back to the checkpoint I set up earlier. This same concept is used two more times in the run.
- The first phase of the Final Boss (8:39) is very simple. There is a damage threshold, so as long as you deal enough damage before its final attack, the teleport around and making blue fire pillars. Then it will end, if not enough damage before that, it will loop back again. So no real risk of losing time here.
- Phase 2 of the Final Boss (11:44) is not as simple. Depending on how much damage you deal each phase, the pattern will be different. Though if you do as me, 2 charged XMPs and 2 normal XMPs, you're good. An important note here is to have at least 14 XMPs, so your XMP Regenerator upgrade gives you back at least 5 XMPs, so you can do more charged XMPs.
The worst part of the run was section at 5:50, where I didn't get my normal jump to double jump out. Instead I was still in the air and thus got only a double jump out. Essentially losing my sprint built up and so this section was very slow.
While not the run isn't perfect, as remembering each jump and section takes time, the most important things were executed extremely well! I'm super happy and proud of this run, hope you'll enjoy watching it too :)
Leaderboard: https://www.speedrun.com/Ex_Vitro